I would love if someone can help/give insight to my college options...

College Search & Selection
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Hello All,

I am a fairly indecisive person and I am having a lot of trouble deciding where I want to go to school next year. I want to study data analytics/economics/business analytics/geographic information systems. I am interested in greek life, ROTC option, great student involvement and school spirit. I want to study abroad as well. I just want a college that will set me up well for a future career where the ROI will be worth it.
I can realistically afford about a 30k contribution a year without going into a fair amount of debt. One of my goals has always been to graduate with little to no debt.

Anyways, here are my options:

ASU- Barrett Honors College (Business data analytics) - This is my cheapest option as it will only cost me around 20k a year. I am hesitant to come here though because I want small class sizes and I would prefer to leave the state. (I am an AZ resident).

University of Denver- (Business Analytics) - This school is in CO which I love. It will cost around 37k a year with my scholarships and merit awards. I will also be a part of the Pioneer Leadership Program. I am slightly concerned about the cold but I think I will get over it. I heard this school is socially dead. Is that true?

Elon university- (Business Analytics) - This school is a bit far from home, but I think I could get used to it. The net cost for me here is around 38k a year. I enjoy the tight-knit community here and the beautiful campus. I have been accepted into the changemaker scholars program. However, I heard this school has nothing to do because it is in the middle of nowhere.

University of San Diego- (Business Econ) - This school has my ideal location (Love the city of San Diego) plus it is somewhat close to home. I would have chosen this school if it wasn’t for the price. For me, it will be about 48k a year. I am not catholic, will that affect my experience if I choose to come here?

If anyone is familiar with these schools, feel free to share your opinion or what you know. I understand that I ultimately have to decide, but some thoughts and feedback would be appreciated.

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@ucbalumnus @aquapt @MWolf Previous post was for brother who is similar to me. Any word or advice here?

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“I can realistically afford about a 30k contribution a year without going into a fair amount of debt. One of my goals has always been to graduate with little to no debt.”

Then the only place on your list that meets that criteria is ASU.

Go there. Save your money. Enjoy graduating debt free.

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IMHO the decision comes down to Denver vs. Barrett.

San Diego is far too expensive, and it isn’t measurably better than Denver or Elon in any way other than your fondness for the location. That simply isn’t a good enough reason to take on something like 75K in debt over four years. (And you can’t borrow that much on your own anyway - your parents would have to cosign, and IMHO they shouldn’t.)

Elon and Denver have a lot in common, but IMHO Denver has the edge between the two. DU on the whole admits slightly stronger students than Elon, and the business school is its greatest strength, with more gravitas in the business community IMO. The Pioneer Leadership Program is the cohort honors program at DU, and is robust and well-respected, whereas Elon has a whole array of smaller programs and it’s hard to tell how meaty they really are. Getting to and from Elon is going to be a hassle at best, and with everything that’s going on, best-case can’t be counted on. Denver is at least driveable in a single long day if you absolutely had to. You sound like you’d rather be in a city, and Denver has tons to offer; you can get all over on public transit from DU’s campus, and the nearby outdoor recreation is terrific. The only things drawing you to Elon, from what I can see, are fears that DU won’t be social/fun enough and that it’ll be too cold. The weather really, really isn’t that bad. It gets cold but not brutally cold for continuous months on end. Just cold enough that winter sports are a thing! And socially, between the PLP cohort and the fact that you can always add Greek life if the baseline without it isn’t quite lively enough for you… I think you’ll be fine. Maybe there are other pros and cons I’m not aware of but from where I sit, DU is the stronger choice.

Do your own analysis of the three private U’s, but I’d recommend narrowing it down to one OOS winner before getting down to the nitty gritty of whether you actually should go out of state.

Then you have the tough question of whether going OOS is worth spending almost twice as much, and taking on at least 32K in debt by that time you’re done. (That’s assuming your 30K budget is debt-free, of which I’m not certain.)

Barrett is certainly not inferior to the others in terms of reputation, and it’s an amazing financial deal. You will have some large classes, but you’ll have small classes and individual attention too, thanks to the honors college. The academic offerings in your areas of interest are more than solid, and you’d have no worries about the social life being “dead.” There are study abroad opportunities, and you could afford to piggyback recreational travel on top of your studies. You could graduate with 30-40K in your pocket vs. graduating with 30-40K of debt. That’s a big difference. Also, the ROTC program is based on the ASU campus and has about 500 ASU students participating, whereas at your OOS schools you’d be one of a handful of students traveling to a different campus to participate.

I do think DU could be great for you - it was on my list of suggestions, after all, before I knew that you’d already applied and gotten in! But I don’t know if it’s worth the 70K+ price gap. The “familiarity breeds contempt” feelings you have about Barrett would likely fade quickly once you were actually there, and you have the rest of your life to live outside of Arizona. It’s a tough call, but I’d give serious consideration to Barrett.

See how you feel after narrowing your OOS choices down to a single choice. If you don’t do that first, you risk pitting Barrett, in your mind, against a fictional composite of all the things you like about the other three schools, which isn’t a fair comparison. Every school has pros and cons, so consider the OOS school you would actually attend, with its particular strengths and weaknesses, and whether it’s truly worth the additional investment. I can see it going either way, but at least structure the choice to give Barrett a fair hearing.